Rowlock.



' 0. MELBYB.

ROWLOGK. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 4, 1909. RENEWED 00110, 1910.

r Patented Feb. 21, 1911.

I I I I II 1 n\\\\v Ila 1 WITNESSES.

Til: NORRIS PETERS c0., WASHINGTON, o. c.

EETTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

OSKAR MELBYE, OF ANACORTES, WASHINGTON.

ROWLOGK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 4, 1909, Serial No. 511,241. Renewed October 10, 1910. Serial No. 586,395.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OsKAR MELBYE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Anacortes, in the county of Skagit and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rowlocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to row-locks. Its object is to provide a device of this character which will securely hold an oar from unshipping even in the roughest water; which will allow the oar to be easily and noiselessly operated; which will permit of the oar being laid lengthwise in the boat without detachment from the lock; and which can be readily dismembered or reassembled under the most unfavorable conditions, such as when the boat is rolling in. a sea-way or in the dark.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the novel construction, adaptation and combination of elements as will .be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a row-lock embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view of portions of the device.

The reference numerals 5 and 6 designate the limbs of what may be termed the rowlock frame and are arranged in angular relation with each other for being respectively secured to the gunwale and framing of a boat, as by the use of screws 7 Provided at the lower end of the limb 6 is a transversely arranged socket for a bolt 8 whereby the row-lock holder 9 is hingedly connected with said frame. In proximity to its lower end the limb is accordingly bifurcated to afford a recess 11 for the reception of a socketed end 10 of said holder. Said bolt is provided at one end with a head 12 and has near its other end a radially disposed pin 13 which prevents the with drawal of the bolt from the holder socket until the bolt has been turned to present the pin in line with grooves 14 and 15 respectively extending from the apertures of the frame and holding sockets. The groove 14 of the frame, and to one side of the re cess 11, terminates in a shoulder 16 to stop the withdrawal of the bolt after it has been sufliciently moved to release the holder. Similarly to the frame, the holder is provided with correspondingly arranged limbs 17 and 18 which are disposed to lie when in operation against the limbs 6 and 5 of said plate. Upon the upper face of framelimb 5 are two ledges 19 which are spaced apartto accommodate the holder limb 18 therebetween. 20 is a latch-bar which is pivotally connected with the frame-limb 6 near one of its lateral edges and is adapted to be swung into engagement with a hook 21 pcsitioned near the opposite edge of the frame. This latch is employed to lock the holder in its operative position to the frame, as illustrated in Fig. 1 and as indicated by broken lines in Fig. 2.

Projecting upwardly from the holder-limb 18 is an annulus 22 which is exteriorly screw threaded for engagement with the threads within the peripheral wall of a cap 23. Extending through acentrally disposed hole 24 of the cap is a stud 25 depending from an element 26 of a support. Provided upon the lower end of said stud is a disk 27 serving as a table against which bear antifriction balls 28 and 29 interposed between the disk and opposing faces of the aforesaid holder and cap. The element 26 is provided with a cylindrical chamber wherein. is a correspondingly shaped bar 31 which is integrally connected through an opening 30 of said element with a stirrup-shaped member 31. The latter is machined to furnish a circular opening and to provide a groove 33 for a circumferential rib 34 of a sleeve 35 which is seated for rotation in the open ing 32. This sleeve is formed with a cylindrical slot 36 extending its entire length and of a width slightly greater than the thickness of an oar-blade, so that the oar may be introduced into the sleeve by first inserting the blade and then moving the same axially outward until the oar is in position to have a hole therein provided to receive a pin 37 provided on a spring-latch 38 secured to the sleeve.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The oar being introduced within the sleeve as above explained, is brought into operative position by swinging the holder 9 about its pivotal connection 8, and whereupon it is secured by the latch 20. So positioned, the limb 18 of the holder is secured against horizontal displacement through the offices of the frame ledges 19. When an oar is to be drawn into the boat the latch 20 is released from its catch 21 to free the hholder'which'may then be swung into the boat to carry the oar therewith. To unship the oar the latch 38 is uncoupled therefrom,

' whereupon the oar may be moved endwise until the blade is within the sleeve where from it is readily removed through the slot 36. i

i The holder with the superattached parts,

including the oar if desired, may be re moved from connection with the frame by I manipulating the bolt 8 so that annulus 22.

Atten'tion is directed to the fact that all of the motions commonly given to an oar in rowing are accommodated yet the parts are so intimately connected, that such play is V accomplished without lost motion or with the accompanying noises incident to apparatus hitherto in use. Furthermore, the oar,

.-.the row-lock proper, and the holder therefor are capable of being swung over into the boat. In addition to these functions the last mentioned elements can be detached from the frame, which isfixedly connected to the boat, and removed from the latter as a safeguard thereto against theft. The principal demand for a device such as mine is believed to be in life-boats, and in vessels of small size which rely but partially upon oars for propulsion and then, principally, when making a landing or in going out through a surf, wherein the loss of row-locks is so common that recourse 1s oftentnnes even had to thole-piins.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is o 1. A rowlock comprising a slotted sleeve, means for detachably connecting said sleeve to an oar at a predetermined position with respect to the length of the latter, a stirrupmember wherein said sleeve is rotatably mounted, a support for tiltably sustaining said member, a holder for the support, said holder being provided with areceptacle to receive the lower end of the support, a frame adapted to be fixedly secured to a boat, and means for hingedly connecting the holder to the frame.

2. A row lock comprising a slotted sleeve, means for detachably connecting said sleeve toan car at a predetermined position with respect to the length ofthe latter, a stirrupmember wherein said sleeve is rotatably mounted, a support for tiltably sustaining said member, a holder for the support, said holder being provided with a receptacle to receive the lower end of the support, a plurality of balls within the receptacle to afford anti-friction bearings for said support, a frame adapted to be fixedly secured to a boat, and means for hingedly connecting the holder to the frame.

OSKAR MELBYE.

V Witnesses:

H. BARNES, A. H. SHOEMAKER. 

